This all depends on your income, your spending, and your dependents.

Assuming you spend more than 750 hours managing your properties, you would have Real estate prof. status.   

It wouldn't make sense to choose a city where you'd spend significant time and money battling regulations just to conduct normal business operations.

I used to spend weekends doing this, and sometimes I'd spot opportunities others missed.Also, have you checked out any local investor meetups?

Know what you are spending $$ on the list. 

Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies who spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away.

- How much would you suggest spending on a property(s) in my situation?

 Wale, thank you very much for you golden nugget I will definitely spend the right of highschool preparing as best as I can for the future!

I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to fight against the tide of YouTube gurus that encourage brand-new investors to set up an LLC before even buying their first home.

If you own your washers and dryers you will probably make some decent money but get ready when something breaks and the tenants want it fixed right away.If you are priced lower than the local laundromat (which most are for some reason) your tenants not only have to carry all their stuff to the Laundromat but will have to spend more money and may want you to cover it.Also a Service Tech will probably charge $100 to show up plus parts.